This isn't primarily a program question - funding mostly comes from external sources like DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), other scholarship organizations, or personal resources. ISME itself doesn't have dedicated scholarships.

Check the DAAD website for scholarship opportunities for international students. Some students also work as research or teaching assistants for faculty members, which provides both income and experience. See the Support page for financial resources and university-level funding information.

There's no structured semester abroad program, but you have options. You can count approved achievements from other universities toward your complementary area. Some students spend part of semester 3 doing internships or research in the Middle East or elsewhere. A few take intensive language courses abroad during summer breaks.

The flexibility exists, but organizing it requires initiative and advance planning. You'll need to get ECTS approvals, handle logistics, and ensure everything counts toward your degree. Talk to program advisors in semester 1 or 2 if you're seriously considering this.

Yes, but think carefully about this. FU offers language courses in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, and others that count toward your complementary area. However, most beginner courses are offered with German as the language of instruction! The further challenge: intensive language learning is time-consuming and demanding, especially if you're also juggling ISME coursework and possibly learning German for daily life.

If starting a new language is essential to your research goals, it's doable - but you might need to structure your other coursework around this priority. If it's more of a "would be nice," consider whether you have the bandwidth for it. Many students end up deepening their existing language skills rather than starting from scratch.

For the program itself: not required but very helpful. Most ISME courses are taught in English, but some courses in disciplinary programs are in German, and some secondary literature you'll encounter is in German or French. Having at least reading knowledge of German opens up more course options.

For daily life in Berlin: English works in many contexts, especially in the university environment and international neighborhoods. But many bureaucratic processes (registration, bank accounts, housing contracts, health insurance) are easier with German. Not all doctors, landlords, or officials speak English. Learning at least survival German will make your life significantly easier.

FU offers German language courses you can take before or during the program. See the Starting page for resources.

ISME admits around 30 students per year, but you won't all be in the same courses. Because you're choosing electives and taking courses across different departments, class sizes vary. Some ISME core seminars might have 15-25 students. Specialized disciplinary seminars might have 5-12. Language courses vary widely depending on level and language.

You'll see the same faces repeatedly in ISME-specific courses, especially in semester 1, which creates some cohort bonding. But the program isn't structured around a tight cohort model - you're also integrating into the broader intellectual community of Middle East Studies at FU.

The program receives more than 150 applications per year and admits around 30 students. See the Admissions page for details on how applicants are ranked. The selection is based on GPA, the depth of your Middle East studies background, language skills, and additional qualifications like work experience or continuing education.

Competition varies year to year depending on the applicant pool. If your GPA is strong, you have substantial Middle East-related coursework, and you meet the language requirements, your chances are reasonable. If any of these is weak, it becomes harder but not impossible - the point system considers work experience and other qualifications too.

Many students work 10-20 hours per week in part-time jobs (research assistantships, teaching assistantships, library jobs, freelance work, etc.) and complete the program. It's demanding but manageable if you're organized and realistic about your limits.

Working more than 20 hours per week while doing full-time coursework is very difficult and increases the risk of burning out or struggling academically. If you need to work substantial hours for financial reasons, be strategic about when you take on more work (semester 3 has more flexibility than semesters 1-2).

International students on student visas have restrictions on how many hours they can work - check the regulations. See Support page for information on funding and financial resources.

There's no single "right" profile. Current students come from history, anthropology, literature, religious studies, political science, linguistics, archaeology, and other backgrounds. Some have deep knowledge of one country or language; others have broader but shallower exposure to the region. Some want academic careers; others are exploring options.

The program works well if you're genuinely curious about how different disciplines approach the same questions, comfortable with ambiguity and complexity, and interested in building your own intellectual path rather than following a preset curriculum. It works less well if you want intensive training in a single discipline's methods or if you prefer highly structured programs with clear career pipelines.

If you're uncertain whether your background is sufficient, see the Admissions page for details on requirements. If you're unsure about the intellectual approach, try reading a few interdisciplinary journals or edited volumes about the Middle East to see if that style of scholarship interests you.

Depends on what "patchy" means. You need about 60 ECTS in Middle East-relevant coursework to meet the formal requirement (see Admissions for details). These don't all have to be from one country or one disciplinary approach - history courses on Ottoman Empire, linguistics courses on Arabic, religious studies courses on Islam, anthropology courses on North Africa all count.

What matters more than coverage is that you can demonstrate genuine engagement with the region and readiness for master's-level work. If you have strong language skills and deep knowledge of one country but little exposure to others, that's fine. If you have broad regional knowledge but weaker languages, that's also workable as long as you meet the B1 requirement.

The admissions committee looks at the overall profile. If your background is genuinely insufficient (say, 30 ECTS of Middle East coursework), you probably won't be admitted. If it's 60+ ECTS but feels uneven to you, apply anyway and let them decide.

In practice, it means you'll be taking courses across multiple departments with different disciplinary cultures. A seminar in Arabic literature has a different rhythm and expectation than one in Islamic theology or Middle Eastern history. You'll read different kinds of texts, learn different methods, write different kinds of papers.

Some students find this intellectually energizing - you're constantly seeing new approaches and making unexpected connections. Others find it disorienting at first, especially if you're used to staying in one disciplinary comfort zone. You'll spend time translating between disciplinary languages and figuring out how to integrate different ways of thinking.

The coursework in semesters 1-2 is designed to help you develop this flexibility. By semester 3, you're choosing your own path. Your thesis will likely draw on multiple disciplines, but how you balance them is up to you and your supervisors.

Semester 3 is deliberately open. You've likely completed your core coursework in semesters 1-2, and semester 4 is reserved for thesis writing. Semester 3 is your chance to shape your own path, both in the consolidation and complementary area of studies.

Options for the complementary area of studies:

• Internship (5, 10, or 15 ECTS): Test professional paths outside academia. See Internships page.
• Research Perspectives module (15 ECTS): Structured research seminar, often good preparation for the thesis.
• Electives (15 ECTS): Take courses that fill gaps, pursue interests, or build specific expertise.

Many students also use semester 3 to start finding thesis supervisors, developing their thesis proposal, and positioning themselves for semester 4. The flexibility is intentional - use it strategically for whatever you need at that point in your development.

That's fine - you're not expected to know in your first semester. The structure of semesters 1-2 exposes you to different approaches and regions. Many students discover new interests or shift their focus during the program.

That said, by semester 3 you'll need to start defining your direction because you need to find thesis supervisors and develop a research proposal. The program gives you flexibility, but you have to eventually make choices. If you're someone who finds open-ended exploration energizing, great. If you prefer clear guidance and defined paths, you might find this frustrating.

If you're currently in another FU master's program and wondering about switching to ISME, see the Transfer from Another Program page. If you're in ISME and regretting it: you have a few options depending on when you realize this.

Early (semester 1-2): You could apply to transfer to one of the single-discipline programs if they're accepting transfers and you meet requirements. No guarantees, and you'd need to navigate bureaucracy.

Later (semester 3-4): At this point, you're probably better off finishing since you're past the halfway mark. You can structure your thesis and remaining coursework to be more focused on one discipline if that helps.

Realistically, switching programs mid-stream is complicated. Better to think carefully before applying whether the interdisciplinary approach appeals to you. If you're truly unsure, consider sitting in on a few courses or talking to current students before committing.

Common experience. You might meet the formal B1 requirement but still feel overwhelmed when encountering actual Middle Eastern language texts in seminars, or you might realize your language is rusty from lack of practice.

Options: FU offers language courses at various levels that count toward your complementary area. You can also use semester 3 to focus on language improvement if needed. The program isn't primarily about language acquisition, but it does expect you to maintain and develop your language skills over two years if you choose to further engage with original language sources.

Be honest with yourself early about where your language skills actually are versus where they need to be for your goals. If there's a gap, make a plan to address it - don't hope it will magically resolve itself.

ISME is administratively housed in the "Wissenschaftliche Einrichtung" called "West Asia, North Africa, Diaspora" at the Department of History and Cultural Studies. Structurally, it draws on courses and faculty from multiple institutes: Arabic Studies, Iranian Studies, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Kurdish Studies, Ottoman Studies, Semitic Studies, and Turcology.

In practical terms: you'll take ISME-specific courses with other ISME students, and you'll take electives in the disciplinary programs alongside students in those programs. Faculty members often teach in both contexts. This integration is intentional - it gives you access to deep disciplinary expertise while maintaining the interdisciplinary framework.

For students, this can feel fragmented at first (you're sometimes moving between different buildings, different disciplinary cultures, even different administrative structures). Eventually you learn to navigate it.

Semesters 1-2 are typically structured and intense. You're taking 30 ECTS per semester (typically 4 courses), which means 900 hours of expected work per semester - that's a full-time work week. In reality, it's uneven: manageable during the semester, brutal during exam periods, easier during the period with no courses (mid-Feb to mid-April, mid-July to mid-Oct).

Most students work 10-20 hours per week in part-time jobs and manage, but it's demanding. Semester 3 has more flexibility since you're choosing your own path. Semester 4 is focused on thesis writing.

The real challenge isn't just the hours - it's the intellectual and emotional labor of navigating different disciplinary expectations, managing multiple reading languages, and developing your own research focus. Some students thrive on this; others find it exhausting. See the Support page for resources if you're struggling.

Honest answer: ISME doesn't train you for a specific profession the way law school or medical school does. Your employability depends on what you make of the program - the networks you build, the skills you develop beyond coursework, how you translate your expertise into professional contexts.

The interdisciplinary approach gives you versatile research and analytical skills, but you'll need to be proactive about connecting these to actual job markets. This is why the internship option exists in semester 3. Many students use it to test whether they want to stay in academia or explore professional paths.

Alumni work in academic research, education, cultural institutions, NGOs, journalism, consulting, international organizations, and various roles requiring regional expertise. But getting there usually requires more than just completing the degree - it requires strategic thinking about what you want to do and how to get there.

ISME is small (30 students per cohort), and you'll see familiar faces in core courses, especially in semester 1. But because everyone is taking different electives across different departments, the program doesn't create the tight cohort bonds you might find in smaller, more structured programs.

Whether this feels isolating or energizing depends on your personality and what you seek out. Some students create study groups, organize social events, or build community through other channels (language courses, student organizations, housing situations). Others feel more isolated, especially if they're introverted or new to Berlin.

The broader Middle East Studies community at FU (across all the disciplinary programs) hosts lectures, workshops, and events where you can meet other students and scholars. See the Support page for resources on building community if you're feeling isolated.

This is a real tension. Traditional disciplinary MA programs give you deep training in one field's methods, canon, and scholarly conversations. ISME gives you broader range but less depth in any single discipline. For PhD applications, this has trade-offs.

Advantages: You can draw on multiple fields, you're practiced at integrating different approaches, and you can pitch yourself to interdisciplinary programs or to committees looking for candidates who bridge fields.

Disadvantages: You won't have the same methodological depth as someone with a single-discipline MA. If you're applying to a traditional disciplinary PhD program (say, in History or Religious Studies), you'll need to demonstrate you can do the kind of specialized work that field values.

In practice, ISME graduates successfully apply to both disciplinary and interdisciplinary PhD programs. What matters is how you structure your thesis and coursework to build the expertise the programs you're targeting value. Talk to advisors early about your PhD goals so you can plan strategically.